Help - 7 month old hen suddenly very lethargic, laid shell-less egg

[Serotonin]

Perhaps add some vitamins to the water to make sure? Also, one thing chickens love is egg and tuna omelette. With egg shells in it it will be full of nutrients.

I don't have any tuna, but I do have vitamins/electrolytes in the water and did feed her some egg with TUMS.

 

[coach723]

You can get amoxicillin as a fish antibiotic without a prescription online. It's usually called Fish Mox or Aqua Mox. There are many sources, so look for the best price, and that they will ship to your location. Some people have unused amoxicillin in their medicine cabinets and you can use that too if you have any. It's given orally and usually well tolerated. Usual dose is 57 mg per pound of bird weight 2X a day, for 5 days. You can empty capsules and mix with some softened coconut oil and then freeze the doses, that usually goes down easy, or you can mix it in a small bit of moistened feed or other moist food (so the medication sticks) and feed it that way, if she'll eat it. Just important to make sure she gets the whole dose.

 

[Serotonin]

It was probably the membrane from what she passed before, it's good that she was able to expel it. When there is not a full, hard egg to push on, the muscles don't have anything to push against, it makes it hard for them to pass those, and can make them feel pretty bad. If she stays perky then you might hold off on the antibiotic, but maybe have on hand just in case. If she seems off or sick, then consider starting that. I would give her calcium for a couple more days, see if you get a normal egg. Hopefully just a glitch, time will tell.

Yeah, I'm going to order some tonight. Even if I don't use it, it can't be bad to have on hand. I'll keep giving a TUM a day. Hopefully she makes more progress in the right direction tomorrow, fingers crossed!

I skimmed and noticed your mention of scratch. Becareful with daily treats.
I highly recommend you stop giving scratch as it takes away form them getting a balanced diet which causes probelms and it is one thing you have complete control over/are able to prevent.

Yeah, I'm not sure if scratch or treats are to blame, but I'm definitely going to tone down the scratch from now on, just to be safe.

 

[Kiki]

Yeah, I'm going to order some tonight. Even if I don't use it, it can't be bad to have on hand. I'll keep giving a TUM a day. Hopefully she makes more progress in the right direction tomorrow, fingers crossed!



Yeah, I'm not sure if scratch or treats are to blame, but I'm definitely going to tone down the scratch from now on, just to be safe.

Overfeeding scratch and treats will cause proplems, for sure.
Overweightness in abird is almost impossilbe to tell by looking at it. The amount of weight is so small one wouldn't know until they opened up a dead bird and saw the fat that covers the organs.

I AM NOT saying you over fed but most people that do don't even realize they are.

If you are feeding more than a tiny spoonful worth of what ever treat you ofer you are over feeding.

 

[coach723]

There are many ideas for boredom busters that won't mess up their diet.
https://www.backyardchickencoops.co...st-boredom-busters-to-keep-your-chickens-busy

 

[Serotonin]

Yes, the panting can be from stress. Pooping is good. Let us know how she's doing this morning. Continue the daily calcium for a few days until you see her lay a normal egg.

She seems more with it this morning. She was flying around the laundry room and looking for a way out, as well as making some confused bawk bawks. She had some white gunk (poop? egg white?) in her butt feathers but her vent itself wasn't clogged or dirty.

I crushed up some Tums and put it in some eggs to feed to her (and the rest of the birds for good measure). She seemed pretty enthusiastic about it and ate her portion, so hopefully that helps some. I also saw her drinking a fair amount. No egg or partial egg or yolk yet, but I'm monitoring.

Her poops still look, for lack of a better word, eggy. They're small and seem mostly liquid/urates too, but I'm not sure if that's just because she didn't eat much yesterday evening/night and mostly just drank. The actual poop part seems pretty dark in color too. I've attached some pictures for reference. The most recent one (on the wood) she seemed to strain a bit to pass.

Because she seemed to have more energy this morning and because she was still panting and seemed pretty stressed inside, I went ahead and let her back into the run. I'm not sure if that was a smart decision in case whatever is wrong is contagious, but I wasn't sure keeping her somewhere where she was clearly feeling very stressed was going to be of any help to her. I've kept everything up in case she regresses though.

 

[ChanP]

Perhaps add some vitamins to the water to make sure? Also, one thing chickens love is egg and tuna omelette. With egg shells in it it will be full of nutrients.

 

[Serotonin]

I usually leave mine with their flock unless they are getting picked at. I just pull them out for a few minutes to give meds or some TLC. Imho, they do much better when they can stay with their flockmates.

The poop is a bit watery and does look to have some albumen (whites). I'd see how she does, but I'd be inclined to consider giving her an antibiotic to help stave off infection if she did indeed have a membrane rupture before in the shell gland or oviduct.

Do you have an antibiotic you'd recommend?

I am in California, which I know complicates matters as most (all?) antibiotics are locked behind a vet prescription. I don't currently have a chicken vet (thankfully haven't needed one yet), but I'll try to get her an appointment with one if you think it would help and be worth the stress.

 

[ChanP]

I don't have any tuna, but I do have vitamins/electrolytes in the water and did feed her some egg with TUMS.

Wish you the best of luck. Just do your best.

 

[Serotonin]

You can get amoxicillin as a fish antibiotic without a prescription online. It's usually called Fish Mox or Aqua Mox. There are many sources, so look for the best price, and that they will ship to your location. Some people have unused amoxicillin in their medicine cabinets and you can use that too if you have any. It's given orally and usually well tolerated. Usual dose is 57 mg per pound of bird weight 2X a day, for 5 days. You can empty capsules and mix with some softened coconut oil and then freeze the doses, that usually goes down easy, or you can mix it in a small bit of moistened feed or other moist food (so the medication sticks) and feed it that way, if she'll eat it. Just important to make sure she gets the whole dose.

Oh, that's good to know, thanks! I'll order some. Is there an egg withdrawal period for that?

Wish you the best of luck. Just do your best.

Thank you! I just hate to see her feeling lousy.